THE WEST COAST

Hokitika Guardian, 29 March 1922, Page 4

THE WEST COAST

HON J. G. COATES’S TOUR

CHRISTCHURCH, March 27

“I have had an interesting time,” said the Hon J. 0. Coates, Minister of Public Works, when asked on Saturday regarding iiis tour of the West Coast, and thence to the east coast via the llaast Pass. “1 have been away from ■ailways, roads and bridges, and have completed the round trip without making a promise—not even of a ‘fiver’! Hnt 1 have made a. lot of useful notes.”

The object of the Minister's tour was to get into direct touch with the peopt? in the different localities, and to see, at first hand, what the requirements of each district are. It is, he remarked, to the reporter, one thing to sit. down to prepare estimates of expenditure when one has. seen the localities wherfc expenditure is asked for, and quite a different thing to sit down to do so without having seen the localities.

Mr Coates’s tour may he said to have started at Colliligwood, in the Nelson district. From IJeapliy Head the party walked round the beach to Karamea, and thence went to Brighton, Barrytown, Greymouth and on south as far as Okurn. “We did not go to Jackson’s Bay,” remarked Mr Coates, “there are no people there, and wte weren’t tourists.” The road connexion between Barry town and Greymouth lias been completed and the Minister motorfed over it. (There is now a demand for the continuation from Barrytown, to Brighton and Mr Coates thinks there is some justification for this work, although the time is not yet ripe to put it in hand. The Minister was not able to visit the country north of Greymouth made more accessible for settlement by tlie completion of the road connexion with Barrytown, but he was much impressed with the country lie saw south of Hokitika and Ross, where dairying is making good headway. To a North Islander the swamps in this district seem rather puzzling, and Mr Coates thinks it would he interesting and, possibly, valuable, to see what tTie effect of drainage would be be.